An Uh-Oh Moment
by SyrupylikeBreakfastinMontag
Summary: The rat had been taunting Merlin for too long now. It was time to use magic to catch the darn thing. A spell goes wrong and Merlin has to keep Arthur from noticing the results, but how will he distract him? Arthur/Merlin Merlin/Arthur Contains slash.


An Uh-Oh Moment

*Author's note: This is my first Merlin fan-fic. I'm almost done with season 4 of the show and it is so obvious that Arthur and Merlin are meant for each other! Hell, they actually say repeatedly that they are two sides of the same coin! Can't get any more blatant than that. Anyways, this story takes place after Arthur has become king, so Uther is dead. Enjoy!*

It was taunting him.

Merlin knew the rat was there. All the food Merlin brought in for the king kept developing nibble marks, the edges of Arthur's clothes were suddenly looking chewed and frayed, and occasionally Merlin would hear the little pitter-patter of feet or a smug, high-pitched squeak. Merlin may never have actually seen the rat, but he knew it was there.

At first Merlin had set up traps, lethal, metal contraptions armed with tempting cubes of cheese, but when Merlin had returned in the morning to check on the traps, the cheese had been gone and there was no rat in sight. So then Merlin hid and laid in wait himself. After all, the little bugger had to come out sometime; it's not like Arthur's food was just sitting there all day for the rat to munch on. The rat had to strike within a reasonably short period of time. But then Arthur would ask Merlin what the bloody hell he was doing or someone would shout something outside the window and Merlin would be distracted just for an instant, and when he looked back, the king's food had been contaminated by rat paws.

Yes, the rat was taunting him. Merlin could practically feel its beady little black eyes upon him, giggling as much as any rat can without sufficiently evolved vocal cords.

It was time to take it to the next level.

It was time to catch the bloody thing with magic.

Merlin sat hunched on Arthur's huge bed, hidden by the thick bed-curtains he had drawn around himself. It would take two separate spells to catch this rat, and Merlin had yet to attempt either of them. Merlin was prepared to sit here all morning, though, until he got them right or until Arthur returned and asked Merlin what the hell he was doing on Arthur's bed.

"Vassarra Hassara," whispered Merlin, staring intently at the middle of the stone floor. Blue eyes flashed gold for an instant, and the air around Merlin suddenly felt thick as his magic poured into the spell. Merlin waited for a moment. Nothing happened.

"Vassarra Hassara!" Merlin exclaimed again, this time more loudly, carefully sounding out each syllable as clearly as possible. His eyes were eclipsed by gold once more. Still, nothing happened.

"Vassarra Hassara!" Merlin shouted, his voice echoing around Arthur's bedchamber, his anger and frustration fueling each word. This time the air around Merlin began to hum, as if each air particle has suddenly gained a voice and was singing. It was a merry, dancing tune, the kind that one might dance an Irish jig to. Merlin could feel his toes beginning to tap despite himself. There was an indignant squeak, and then the befuddled rat came dancing across the stone floor, its feet moving in time with the music's rhythm. A huge smile spread across Merlin's face. It had worked. Now all he had to do was paralyze the dirty little creature so that it couldn't escape.

"Escallerpo Valledasco," he intoned, focusing all of his willpower on the dancing rodent. Instantly, the music stopped and the rat froze. Merlin beamed. Right on the very first try. Then Merlin's smile withered and died. The rat was growing. Furthermore, the rat's fur was changing colors. Within ten seconds, a bright blue rat the size of a house cat was sitting in the middle of the floor. It did not look happy.

It was at this moment that Merlin heard footsteps out in the hallway. Both Merlin and the rat swiveled to stare in horror at the wooden door to Arthur's bedroom. The next instant, both of them were in motion. Merlin leapt for the door as the rat scurried around, trying to find a hole big enough for its new, engorged form. The door knob was turning and the door was already open a crack when Merlin finally reached it, flinging himself headlong into the door and slamming it forcefully shut.

"Ouch!" yelped Arthur from out in the hall. "Merlin? Is that you? Let me into my room this instant!"

"Um, sorry," called Merlin hurriedly, determinedly leaning all his weight against the door. "It's just, um, well I've only just finished scrubbing the floors. They're all wet. Can't have you slipping. Wouldn't want to be responsible for the king of Camelot falling and breaking his neck now, would I?" Merlin could practically feel Arthur's annoyance through the wood of the door.

"Merlin," growled Arthur, shaking the door's handle furiously. "You open this door this instant!"

"I couldn't possible, sire," replied Merlin desperately. Had the rat found a hiding place yet? Was it out of sight? There was no way Merlin could let Arthur see what he'd done. An enchantment of any kind would mean a full-scale witch hunt, and Merlin couldn't afford that. Innocent people would get accused, probably even burnt at the stake because of him if that happened.

"Got to watch out for your health," Merlin excused lamely.

"Merlin, I'm the king of fucking Camelot! I think I can handle walking on a damp floor!" yelled Arthur. "Merlin? Merlin! Open this door right now! I am your king for God's sake!" Then Arthur slammed into the door, and Merlin went flying. Arthur's momentum carried him halfway into the room before he could stop himself. In these precious seconds, Merlin scanned the room, letting out a sigh of relief when there was no blue beast in sight.

"These floors are completely dry!" Arthur exclaimed indignantly, rounding on Merlin.

"Oh?" asked Merlin innocently, staring down at the floor in feigned surprise. "Well, crisis averted then I guess." Then, before Arthur could formulate some kind of response and probably some form of punishment, Merlin leapt to his feet and fled. He would have to deal with the giant blue rat issue later when Arthur wasn't throwing things at his head.

xxxxxxxXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

The door creaked painfully loudly as Merlin crept into the dark chambers of the slumbering king. The familiar sound of Arthur's soft snoring met Merlin's ears, letting him know that his lord was safely and obliviously asleep. Thank God Arthur was a heavy sleeper; who knew how much noise catching this giant rodent would make.

Merlin tip-toed across the floor, peering surreptitiously over at his sleeping king to double check that he really was out for the count, and froze. There, on the pillow next to Arthur's slumbering form, was the rat. It was hunkered down in a seated position, contentedly nibbling on Arthur's expensive bed sheets and staring tauntingly at Merlin.

Carefully, proceeding in painfully slow movements so as to avoid startling the azure rodent, Merlin crept towards the bed. Surprisingly, the rat didn't move. It was occupied with its meal of crimson cloth, although it did occasionally shoot Merlin a suspicious glance. Finally, after what felt like years to the serving boy, Merlin reached the edge of Arthur's bed. The only problem was that now Arthur lay between Merlin and the rodent. Merlin could've tried to go around to the other side of the bed, but then if he startled the rat it would run towards Arthur and all would be lost. Better to take his chances leaning over the sleeping king. Merlin paused for a moment, reassuring himself by listening to Arthur's slow, even breaths, then he ever-so-slowly began to tilt his body forward over the bed. The rat paused in its consumption of Arthur's sheets, giving Merlin a calculating look, and Merlin froze. Rat and warlock stared at each other for a moment, then both sprung into motion. Merlin threw himself across the bed, fingers grasping for the over-sized rat, but the rat flew off the bed, moving with a speed Merlin hardly thought possible.

"Wha-" Arthur groaned, shifting under Merlin's sudden weight. "Merlin? Is that you?" Arthur's eyes focused on Merlin's pale face, the fog of sleep beginning to fade from his features. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?" Arthur's confusion was beginning to melt into all-too-familiar anger.

"Oh, um, just checking for moths, sire," exclaimed Merlin hurriedly, grabbing handfuls of Arthur's bedding and holding them up so he could pretend to examine them.

"Moths?" asked a now thoroughly bemused and very skeptical Arthur. "In the middle of the night?"

"I've heard that's when they're most active," explained Merlin with incredible sincerity.

"And you have to be on top of me because…?" drawled Arthur.  
"I, um, couldn't let them get you, sire."

"The moths…"

"Obviously. It's not like there are any other dangerous pests in here." Merlin forced a laugh. Suddenly, Arthur was moving. Strong hands grabbed Merlin's shoulders and muscular legs curled around his waist, dragging Merlin down as Arthur flipped upwards. Within a heartbeat, Merlin was the one pinned to the bed under Arthur's crushing weight.

"Merlin," said Arthur in a tone of forced calm.

"Yes, sire?" asked Merlin as innocently as possible.

"Why are you acting so strange?"

"Strange? I'm insulted. How on Earth am I acting strangely?" protested Merlin, buying for time to think up a proper excuse.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it's the way I keep walking in to find you hiding behind the curtains. Or maybe it's the fact that you've jumped on me in the middle of the night claiming to be looking for moths!" It was in the middle of this rant that Merlin spotted it: sitting boldly in the middle of the floor and nibbling curiously on one of Arthur's boots was the rat. Why hadn't it run away and hidden? Where were its survival instincts? It had been very sneaky just a few days ago.

"What?" asked Arthur, his lecture derailed by Merlin's horrified expression. Arthur began to turn, attempting to follow Merlin's gaze, but Merlin quickly grabbed his face, holding the king in place with a hand on each of the blonde's cheeks.

"At least have the decency to look at me while we're having a conversation!" scolded Merlin, scrunching up his face into a frown and pretending to be insulted.

"Me?" exclaimed Arthur indignantly. "You're the one who was just staring into space!"

"No, that doesn't sound like something I would do," denied Merlin straight-faced.

"I just _saw_ you doing it!" growled Arthur. "What the hell were you looking at?" Then Arthur began to turn again, and in the split second available, Merlin did the only thing left open to him: he dragged Arthur's head down and kissed him squarely on the lips.

Arthur froze for a moment, clearly startled to find his servant's lips suddenly covering his own. Then he dug his fingers hard into Merlin's shoulders and kissed back.

Merlin had no idea what to do. He hadn't really had time to formulate a plan, but if there had been some semblance of a plan it had not involved Arthur's tongue sweeping over Merlin's lower lip or sharp teeth nipping gently at his mouth. Was this even something he wanted? But as Arthur's hand released Merlin's shoulder and slipped down over the sorcerer's abdomen, some part of Merlin definitely wanted to this, pressing needily against the fabric of his trousers.

"Fuck," breathed Arthur, pulling away from their kiss for an instant as his fingers fumbled with the laces covering Merlin's crotch. "Been waiting so bloody long for you to do that."

"Really?" gasped Merlin. His thoughts were rapidly getting fuzzy, consumed with lapping tongues and wandering hands. He could be saying gibberish for all he knew. Arthur didn't respond to Merlin's question, instead opting to focus on freeing Merlin's now fully hard cock. Merlin gasped, his back arching as strong fingers wrapped around his erection, a calloused thumb flicking over its weeping head.

"Fuck," he exclaimed, grabbing onto Arthur's shoulders and holding on for dear life as Arthur's hand began to stroke him, pumping up and down in an easy rhythm. No one had ever touched him like this. Sure, Merlin had jerked himself off numerous times, but it wasn't the same as it being someone else's hand. And this hand didn't just belong to anyone: this was Arthur making him feel this way.

"Want-" Merlin had no idea what he wanted, but he knew he wanted more; more contact, more touching, more Arthur. "More, please." Then hands were tugging at his trousers, coaxing him to lift his hips so that Arthur could slide them down for Merlin to kick off onto the foot of the bed.

"Shirt too," commanded Arthur, and Merlin, despite his usual inability to follow orders, obeyed, jerking the offending fabric off over his head and throwing it onto the floor. A chill ghosted across the pale skin of Merlin's chest and he shivered, suddenly feeling very exposed lying naked under his king. This was all happening so fast. He hadn't even known that he'd wanted this until mere minutes earlier. He crossed an arm protectively over his chest, trying to cover up some of his exposed skin.

"Don't," murmured Arthur, tugging Merlin's arm away. "You're beautiful." And then Arthur's lips were everywhere: sucking on Merlin's earlobe, kissing and biting down the column of Merlin's throat, pausing to kiss the peak of Merlin's prominent collarbone before taking the dusky peak of Merlin's nipple into his mouth and _sucking_.

"I think you mean ruggedly handsome," quipped Merlin, his sense of humor not having completely deserted him despite the fact that his head was still reeling. "I am a man after all."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," joked Arthur, sliding down Merlin's body to nuzzle his cheek against Merlin's bobbing erection, a self-satisfied smirk quirking up the corners of his lips. Merlin sucked in a breath, any semblance of a comeback deserting him at the sight of Arthur's lips so near his cock. Then Arthur's mouth closed around the head of Merlin's erection and Merlin groaned as Arthur took as much of Merlin's cock into his mouth as he could. If someone had told Merlin that morning that the king of Camelot would be sucking his cock he would have laughed at them and called them crazy, but here he was with Arthur's tongue swirling around the head of his prick and the king's cheeks hollowing as he sucked. Then, suddenly, the pressure on his cock was gone and Arthur sat up. Arthur leaned forward, bending over Merlin so that their faces were parallel again. The calloused pad of Arthur's thumb rubbed over Merlin's kiss-swollen lips, then three fingers were pressing into Merlin's mouth.

"Suck," commanded Arthur. Tentatively, Merlin's lips closed around the invading digits, laving them with his tongue until they were thoroughly wet. Arthur pulled his hand free, leaning down to kiss Merlin once more before coaxing the brunette's knees to bend with his dry hand. Then a damp finger was circling Merlin's entrance and Merlin stiffened. He had never even touched himself down there let alone anyone else.

"Is this alright?" asked Arthur, glancing a little guiltily up at Merlin's pale face. Merlin bit his lip, taking in the way Arthur's pupils were dilated with lust, Arthur's lips reddened from their kissing and sucking Merlin's cock, the flushed erection bobbing practically against Arthur's stomach. He wanted this.

Merlin nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and a slick finger pressed into him. It felt a bit weird, and for a moment Merlin wondered if he was going to like this after all, but then Arthur was kissing him and he had curled his finger around a spot inside him that had him seeing stars.

"Fuck, want you so much," murmured Arthur between kisses before slipping a second finger inside. The stretch was slightly uncomfortable this time, but Arthur kept rubbing against that spot inside Merlin that made it all ok so Merlin managed to ignore to slight burn. Then a third finger was pressing inside him, but by now Merlin was bucking into Arthur's hand, fucking himself on his king's fingers.

"Gorgeous," whispered Arthur, and then his fingers were gone and Arthur was pulling Merlin's cheeks apart so that something much larger could take their place. Merlin winced; Arthur had spit on his cock to slick it up some, but the saliva was only easing the process a little as Arthur pushed into Merlin inch by inch.

"You ok?" gasped Arthur through ragged breaths as he forced himself to remain still inside Merlin, giving the sorcerer time to adjust.

"Yeah, just give me a sec, ok?" replied Merlin. His hands were fists clenching the sheets and his toes were curled as he tried to relax the muscles in his anus and get used to the intrusion. It hurt, but eventually the burning began to fade and Merlin croaked out, "Move."

Arthur pulled out until just the head of his cock was still buried inside Merlin and then slammed home. Arthur curled one hand around Merlin's bony hip, pulling Merlin down to meet him with each thrust as he pounded into the brunette. Arthur changed angles, trying to hit that spot again within Merlin, and after a moment Merlin gasped, throwing his head back and almost banging it on the headboard. Arthur smirked, leaning down to bite the junction where Merlin's pale neck melded into his shoulder and feeling Merlin's breath against his ear as the sorcerer chanted Arthur's name. Merlin reached up over his head, bracing his hands on the wooden headboard to give himself leverage as he rocked up to meet each of Arthur's thrusts. Fingers curled around Merlin's weeping erection, stroking it in time with Arthur's thrusts and Merlin could feel his orgasm approaching.

"Fuck," groaned Arthur, shuddering slightly above Merlin as he came. Merlin could feel his seed slick within him and then he was coming too, Arthur pumping him until his cock was completely spent. Arthur carefully pulled out of Merlin, flopping down on his side next to the brunette. Merlin rolled over, lying on his side too so that he was face to face with his king.

"You really are beautiful," said Arthur, reaching out with one hand to stroke Merlin's cheek, tracing the boy's sharp cheekbone.

"Well aren't you affectionate after sex," teased Merlin, a grin spreading over his face and causing dimples to appear on each of his cheeks. "And this from the man I usually have to force into giving me a hug."

Arthur actually blushed.

"I was, well, I was afraid to hug you. I was afraid you'd figure out I have feelings for you and hate me," he admitted, not meeting Merlin's eyes in his embarrassment.

"To think, I had to suffer through hundreds of bromantic back-pats when we could have been doing this," replied Merlin, leaning in to press a kiss to Arthur's lips.

"Mmm," agreed Arthur, dragging Merlin's body even closer and tangling their legs together. "So much time wasted." Arthur pressed his tongue against the seam of Merlin's lips, and Merlin opened his mouth, allowing his king access. Their tongues curled languidly around each other, the frenzied lust of earlier replaced by a sleepy want, and Merlin felt his spent cock twitch a little in response. Merlin broke the kiss with a sigh, flipping over so that his back was to Arthur. Arthur obligingly pressed forward, nestling Merlin's thin frame against his chest and pulling Merlin's hips back against his now flaccid prick.

"Night, Merlin," mumbled Arthur into Merlin's hair, already beginning to drift off into a post-coital slumber.

"Goodnight, Arthur," replied Merlin, unable to hold back a smile at the new intimacy of those words. Merlin could hear the king's breathing begin to even out, could feel Arthur's muscles relax as sleep claimed him. Merlin's own eyes were about to slip shut when he heard a soft squeak from somewhere in the room. Merlin groaned, and settled back further into Arthur's embrace. He would deal with the big blue rat later when he wasn't so tired and his ass wasn't so sore. After all, the annoying little bugger wasn't going anywhere, and the prospect of distracting Arthur until he could get rid of the bloody thing suddenly didn't seem so bad anymore.

Merlin awoke to something hard pressing against the seam of his ass and a tongue tracing the shell of his ear.

"Mmm good morning to you too," he murmured, flipping over to face Arthur. Arthur just smiled, leaning forward to kiss Merlin soundly. Fingers curled around Merlin's partially-erect cock, working it until he was fully hard, then Arthur pulled Merlin flush against him, grinding their cocks together with a groan. The two rutted against each other, Arthur's fingers digging into Merlin's hips hard enough to leave bruises, but Merlin didn't care. A few minutes later and they were both coming with a groan, Arthur gasping Merlin's name against his lips.

"I could get used to waking up to that," remarked Merlin with a grin.

"As could I," replied Arthur, giving Merlin one last kiss before reluctantly swinging his legs over onto the floor and getting up.

"Can I borrow a shirt?" called Merlin as Arthur padded across the room towards his bureau. "All my clothes are at Gaius'."

"Sure thing," replied Arthur, ducking behind the screen he usually changed behind. "You can borrow my- Aaah!" Whatever Arthur had been about to say was cut off by a rather un-manly, high-pitched scream.

"Arthur?" asked Merlin in concern, sitting up quickly. Arthur ran out from behind the screen, jumping onto the bed next to Merlin.

"It was a rat!" Arthur yelped, staring across the room at the screen in horror. "A giant, blue rat!"

"I see," said Merlin teasingly, an amused smile spreading across his face. "So the king of Camelot, who's faced dragons and worse, just screamed like a woman over a rat?"

"A giant, blue rat!" protested Arthur. "And I did not scream like a woman."

"Right," said Merlin sarcastically. "High-pitched shrieks are very manly. And I'm sure you just imagined it. Rats aren't big and blue."

"It was blue and huge! Go and look for yourself if you don't believe me!" exclaimed Arthur, gesturing furiously at the screen. Merlin got up, shooting Arthur one last amused smile before he walked over to the screen, completely unabashed by his nude state. Sure enough, there sat the blue rat, munching contentedly on one of Arthur's favorite red shirts. Merlin knelt down, raising his hands so that his palms were hovering over the engorged, azure creature.

"Valledasco Reversio," he whispered as quietly as possible. Blue eyes glinted gold for an instant, and then the rat was shrinking and had turned grey again. The rat hadn't even paused in its consumption of Arthur's shirt. Merlin let out a little sigh of relief, then snatched the rat's tail with lightning speed.

"Is this what you were freaking out about?" asked Merlin, appearing from behind the screen holding the now very indignant and dangling rat.

"It-, wha- I could've sworn that thing was big and blue!" exclaimed Arthur in disbelief, staring in horror at the now very ordinary rodent.

"Maybe you should start sleeping more," suggested Merlin innocently. "Obviously you must be tired if you've been hallucinating things."

"Maybe if my servant hadn't fallen on me in the middle of the night I would be more rested," retorted Arthur, glaring at Merlin's smiling face.

"You didn't seem to be complaining last night," quipped Merlin. Arthur got up from the bed, walking over until he was standing mere inches in front of Merlin.

"No, I definitely wasn't," he replied tenderly before leaning down to plant a kiss on Merlin's smiling lips. Lips moved sensuously over each other, and Arthur's fingers reached up to tangle themselves in Merlin's hair as he deepened the kiss.

"Ouch!" yelped Merlin, dropping the rat which fell to the floor with an indignant squeak. "It bit me, the little devil!" The rat took off across the floor, vanishing under Arthur's bureau before Merlin could even begin to give chase.

This meant war. Merlin was going to get that rat if it was the very last thing he did. But maybe it could wait until Arthur wasn't kissing the back of his neck and running his hands over the taut skin of his stomach. Yes, the rat could definitely wait until later. Merlin had more important things to deal with now, like making Arthur moan his name again.

*Author's note: Well there you have it! I hope you guys liked the story! Please review with any feedback and let me know if you want me to write more stories about this pairing. Thanks for reading! :)*


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